I Have a Confession…..
That’s right, I am here with a confession. No I am not going to confess to anything “real juicy”. Nor is your reading this confession going to give you “insider” information that could be used in any way beyond it’s reason. In fact, some of you will read this and say, “ha, that’s just simple truth, not a confession”.
All day long I have been wanting to make this post and I confess, I have put it off. Actually, I put it off long enough for today to be tomorrow, if you keep track of that sort of information.
Being Canadian, today is our Thanksgiving. I am not certain why we Canadians found it necessary to hold Thanksgiving on a different day than the U.S., we just did! You might even say that Canada started the holiday and the U.S. finally decided to copy us but just a little slow on the uptake. 
No matter the reason behind holding Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October of each and every year, I have to say, I put off posting this dissertation for one reason only. I could not, for the life of me, think of where to begin to tell you what I am thankful for. Not because I have nothing to BE thankful for, but instead, because I have so much to BE thankful for. I simply don’t know where to start.
Do I start by listing all the wonderful creations I thankfully enjoy every day? Do I start by listing all the amazing happenings in my life that I am thankful for? Or do I start by listing all the people in my life that I am thankful for? For, in all honesty, with every breath I take, there is no beginning for my thankfulness, just as I pray, there will never be a day that I do not find another perfectly good reason to be thankful.
I hope that by now, you can see my dilemma. Each and every day I admit that there are too many creations, awesome happenings and way too many people who enter my world that I am thankful for. And I am afraid if I begin to list them, I will most certainly forget that one event, the one person, the best reward responsible for my thankfulness.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of highs and an equal amount of lows that I have encountered during the 52 years I’ve been in this lifetime and I bet you can all say the same. Yet each of them, highs and lows, have brought me to this spot, at this particular time and in this particular frame of mind. A spot I am able to use to share my thoughts, my mistakes and my success. A spot I use to help others, to make others think outside their own understandings. A spot to vent, to rant and rave, to voice my honest opinions.
To put into words that which I am truly thankful for has proven rough, even for a chatter like me! I think that this next piece of prose best describes it and I hope you take the time to read and join me on The Journey:
Life is like a train ride. We get on. We ride. We get off. We get back on and ride some more. There are accidents and there are delays. At certain stops there are surprises. Some of these will translate into great moments of joy, some will result in profound sorrow.
When we are born and we first board the train, we meet people whom we think will be with us for the entire journey. Those people are our parents. Sadly this is far from the truth. Our parents are with us for as long as we absolutely need them. They too have journeys the must complete. We live on with the memories of their love, affection, friendship, guidance and there ever presence.
There are others who board the train and who eventually become very important to us,in turn.
These people are our brothers, sisters, friends and acquaintances, whom we will learn to love and cherish.
Some people consider their journey like a jaunty tour. They will just go merrily along.
Others, will encounter many upsets, tears, losses on their journey.
Others still, will linger on to offer a helping hand to anyone in need.
Some people on the train will leave an everlasting impression when they get off.
Some will get on and get off the train so quickly, they will scarcely leave a sign that they ever traveled along with you or ever crossed your path.
We will sometimes be upset that some passengers whom we love, will choose to sit in another compartment and leave us to travel on our own. Then again, there’s nothing that says we can’t seek them out anyway.
Nevertheless, once sought out and found, we may not even be able to sit next to them because that seat will already be taken. That’s okay… everyone’s journey will be filled will be filled with hopes, dreams, challenges, setbacks and goodbyes. We must strive to make the best of it …no matter what.
We must constantly strive to understand our travel companions and look for the best in everyone. Remember that at any moment during our journey, any one of our travel companions can have a weak moment and be in need of our help. We too may vacillate or hesitate, even trip…hopefully we can count on someone being there to be supportive and understanding.
The bigger mystery of our journey is that we don’t know when our last stop will come. Neither do we know when our travel companions will make their last stop. Not even those sitting in the seat next to us.
Personally, I know I’ll be sad to make my final stop…I’m sure of it! My separation from all those friends and acquaintances I made during the train ride will be painful. Leaving all those I’m close to will be a sad thing. But then again, I”m certain that one day I’ll get to the main station only to meet up with everyone else. They’ll all be carrying their baggage…most of which they didn’t have when they first got on this train.
I’ll be glad to see them again. I’ll also be glad to have contributed to their baggage… and to have enriched their lives, just as much as they will have contributed to my baggage and enriched my life.
We’re all on this train ride together. Above all we should all try to strive to make the ride as pleasant and memorable as we can, right up until we each make the final stop and leave the train for the last time.
All aboard! Safe journey!! Bon Voyage!* Author unknown.
With sincere thanks for allowing me to ramble on.